Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Ashbourne | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | ASHBOURNE | |
Postcode district | DE6 | |
Dialling code | 01335 | |
Police | Derbyshire | |
Fire | Derbyshire | |
Ambulance | East Midlands | |
UK Parliament | ||
Ashbourne is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district in Derbyshire, England. Its population was measured at 8,377 in the 2011 census[2] and was estimated to have grown to 9,163 by 2019.[3] It has many historical buildings and independent shops. The town offers a historic annual Shrovetide football match. Its position near the southern edge of the Peak District makes it the closest town to Dovedale, to which Ashbourne is sometimes referred to as the gateway.
The town is 14 miles (23 km) west of
History
The town's name derives from the Old English æsc-burna meaning "stream with ash trees".[4]
Ashbourne was granted a market charter in 1257.[5] In medieval times it was a frequent rest stop for pilgrims walking "St Non's Way" to the shrine of Saint Fremund at Dunstable in Bedfordshire.[6]
The forces of Charles Edward Stuart passed through Ashbourne during the Jacobite rising of 1745.[7]
Governance
Ashbourne
Geography
Ashbourne lies at 53°01′N 01°44′W / 53.017°N 1.733°W.
Economy
From 1910,
Water from a borehole on the site was first marketed as Ashbourne Water in 1975 and was sold mostly to the catering trade.[10] Nestlé retained the borehole after the factory shut, taking water by tanker to Buxton for bottling.[10] Declining sales (1.3 million bottles in 2005, compared to 90 million for Buxton water) meant it could not justify further investment and the brand was discontinued in 2006.[10]
Tourism is an important element of the local economy, due to the town's proximity to Dovedale and the Peak District. The Tourist Information Centre was closed in 2011[11] but, from January 2018, a visitor information centre was made available again in the town hall.[12]
Culture and community
The cobbled market place hosts a traditional outdoor market every Thursday and Saturday throughout the year, complementing the wide range of individual shops in the town. Although its market heritage is important, it came under threat of closure from Derbyshire County Council in November 2012. The people of Ashbourne opposed any such moves by the council and started an online petition. Ashbourne became the 97th
Ashbourne Shire Horse Society and Show
According to the Ashbourne Show website:[14]
"In 1881, four gentlemen founded a society aimed at improving the standard of Shire horses in the Ashbourne area. Originally known as the Ashbourne Cart Horse Society, later that year, it held its first a show on the Paddock, at Ashbourne. This was so successful, it was determined by public meeting to put it on a permanent basis. Apart from a few years lost to war and foot-and-mouth, an annual show has been held ever since. In 1888, the title Ashbourne Shire Horse Society was adopted and royal patronage was granted in 1899 by King Edward VII, who was President in 1901. Shrovetide Football although much older, did not become royal till 1928. Although there have been ups and downs, the ambition of the founders has been fully justified. It has grown, changed and evolved, with cattle introduced in 1925 and sheep in 1957. Other sections have also been added, so that it has become the modern Ashbourne Show, now presented by the Ashbourne Shire Horse Society. However, what has not changed is the aim and ambition to produce a show for the encouragement of excellence in agriculture and animal husbandry and for the information education and entertainment of the local community and the visitors to the area each August."
Media
Local news and television channels are BBC East Midlands and ITV Central. Television signals are received from the local relay transmitter.[15]
Ashbourne's local radio stations are BBC Radio Derby on 104.5 FM, Smooth East Midlands on 106.6 FM, Capital Midlands on 102.8 FM and Greatest Hits Radio Midlands on 96.7 FM (formerly Ashbourne Radio).[16]
The Ashbourne News Telegraph is the town’s weekly local newspaper.[17]
Landmarks
Ashbourne currently has eleven public houses and two
Transport
Railway
Today, the nearest railway stations are
History
Construction of the Ashbourne to Buxton line began in 1896.[22] Passenger services started to Buxton in August 1899, after the building of a joint railway station to serve the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and North Staffordshire Railway (NSR) lines. It closed to regular passenger traffic in 1954; all services on the Ashbourne–Parsley Hay section ceased in 1963. The line continued down the Dove to Rocester, near Uttoxeter, where it joined the main North Staffordshire Railway. This southern link had opened in 1852[23] and, in 1867, the LNWR gained running powers over the line. It also closed to passengers in 1954 and completely in the early 1960s.
The course of the Ashbourne to Buxton line up to Parsley Hay has since been converted to the Tissington Trail, a popular recreational walking and cycle path.
Buses
Bus services in the area are provided by
Recreation
The
The Limestone Way passes 2–3 miles away, through Tissington, Thorpe, Marten Hill and above Mayfield to Rocester.[24][25][26] There are several routes for walkers from Ashbourne to Limestone Way.
Education
The main secondary school is Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, founded in 1585. It moved to its current site on the Green Road in 1909 and took over Ashbourne County Secondary School in 1973.
Religious sites
The 215 ft (66 m) spire of
The church of St John was built on Buxton Road in 1871 in a
Sport
In the annual two-day Royal Shrovetide Football Match, one half of the town plays the other, using the town as the pitch, with goals three miles apart. As many as several thousand players compete for two days with a hand-painted, cork-filled ball. The game is played by two teams, the Up'ards and the Down'ards, over two eight-hour periods, subject to a few rules. Shrovetide football has been played for several centuries. It is a moving mass (the Hug) that continues through the roads of the town, across fields, and even along the bed of the local Henmore Brook. There were intermittent unsuccessful attempts to ban the game until the late 19th century.
Before the 1966 Football World Cup, the West German squad stayed at the nearby Peveril of the Peak Hotel and trained on one of Ashbourne's town football pitches near the park.
Local contestant Dave Mellor was the 1978 BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars World Champion.[28]
Notable people
In birth order:
- Sir Aston Cockayne (1608–1684), 1st Baronet Cockayne of Ashbourne
- Catherine Pegge (born c. 1635) was mistress to Charles II, mother to Charles FitzCharles, 1st Earl of Plymouth, and a resident of Yeldersley.
- clergyman and religious controversialist, was born here.[29]
- Hill Boothby (1708–1756), late love of Samuel Johnson, was born here.[30]
- Thomas Brown(1708–1780), Garter King of Arms, was born here.
- George Hayne (died 1723), merchant and entrepreneur
- Sir Brooke Boothby, 6th Baronet (1744–1824), poet, was born here.[31]
- William Corden the Elder (1795–1867), portrait painter
- Francis Wright (1806–1873) industrialist and philanthropist, lived at Osmaston, south of Ashbourne. A memorial to Wright stands in Ashbourne Market Place.
- Salvation Army', was born here.[32]
- Francis Charles Robert Jourdain (1865–1940), ornithologist, was born in Ashbourne in 1865 and for a time served as Vicar of Clifton-by-Ashbourne.
- David Redfern (1935–2014), photographer
- Roy Wood (born 1946), musician, lives here.
- Andrew Lewer (born 1971), East Midlands MEP, lived in Ashbourne and attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Ashbourne.
- James Rutledge (born 1978), musician and producer
- Dave Tyack (1978 – c. 2002), guitarist, drummer and singer
See also
References
- ^ "Neighbourhood Statistics". Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
- ^ "Ashbourne (Derbyshire, East Midlands, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics and Location in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
- ^ "City Population. Retrieved 6 January 2021". Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ "Key to English Place-names". kepn.nottingham.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Ashbourne Town Guide – what to do and what to see in Ashbourne". www.derbyshireuk.net. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ISBN 978-1784770075.
- ^ "A general ACCOUNT of the Conduct and Proceedings of the REBELS during their Stay at DERBY". Derby Mercury. 29 November 1745. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2015 – via findmypast.
- ^ "Venues". Ashbourne Town Council. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
- ^ OS Explorer map: 259: Derby (Map). Ordnance Survey.
- ^ a b c "Sales decline shuts Ashbourne Water". Ashbourne News Telegraph. 3 May 2006. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Ashbourne and Matlock tourist information centres set to close". BBC News. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Tourist Information Office". Ashbourne Town Council. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ "Ashbourne Fairtrade Town Initiative". www.ashbournefairtrade.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ "Aims of the Society". The Ashbourne Show. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ "Freeview Light on the Ashbourne (Derbyshire, England) transmitter". UK Free TV. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "Bauer buys Imagine to extend Greatest Hits Radio". RadioToday. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "Ashbourne News Telegraph". Reach Solutions. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ "A sneak peek inside Ashbourne's new Green Man pub". Derby Telegraph. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ "Black man's head pub sign to go in racism row in Ashbourne". BBC News. 8 June 2020. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "Ashbourne black man's head pub sign removed amid racism row". BBC News. 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ Bland, Archie (9 June 2020). "Derbyshire town's 'racist' bust that faced removal hidden by residents". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ISBN 1-870119-45-2.
- ISBN 978-1-84674-042-8.
- ^ Derbyshire Dales District Council. The Limestone Way Walkers Guide. Matlock UK: Tourism Section DDDC. pp. 22–25.
- ISBN 978-0-319-23725-0.
- ^ Long Distance Walkers Association. "Limestone Way". Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ "The Patna Partnership". Ashbourne Churches Together. Archived from the original on 11 August 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
- ^ "World Championship". F1 Stockcars. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
- ^ David L. Wykes, "Cantrell, Henry, Church of England clergyman and religious controversialist" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
- ^ Kathryn M. Burton, "Boothby, Hill (1708–1756)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 2 January 2017 Archived 18 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Rebecca Mills, "Boothby, Sir Brooke, seventh baronet (1744–1824)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, May 2010 accessed 2 January 2017 Archived 18 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Catherine Booth Biography". s9.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2016.